Text 1:

Conventional wisdom long held that human social systems evolved in stages, beginning with hunter-gatherers forming small bands of members with roughly equal status. The shift to agriculture about 12,000 years ago sparked population growth that led to the emergence of groups with hierarchical structures: associations of clans first, then chiefoms, and finally, bureaucratic states.

Text 2:

In a 2021 book, anthropologist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow maintain that humans have always been socially flexible, alternately forming systems based on hierarchy and collective ones with decentralized leadership. The authors point to evidence that as far back as 50,000 years ago some hunter-gatherers adjusted their social structures seasonally, at times dispersing in small groups but also assembling into communities that included esteemed individuals.

Based on the texts, how would Graeber and Wengrow (Text 2) most likely respond to the "conventional wisdom" presented in Text 1?

Question

Accepted Answer

By disputing the idea that developments in social structures have followed a linear progression through distinct stages

Answer

By conceding the importance of hierarchical systems but asserting the greater significance of decentralized collective societies

Answer

By acknowledging that hierarchical roles likely weren't a part of social systems before the rise of agriculture

Answer

By challenging the assumption that groupings of hunter-gatherers were among the earliest forms of social structure.